USA Cancels 'Necessary Roughness' After Three Seasons

The sports dramedy ends its run with a modest average of 2.5 million total viewers for its third season.

The game is over for "Necessary Roughness". USA Network has decided not to order a fourth season of the football-themed sports dramedy, which wrapped up its third and now final season in August.

"We are proud of this show and its writers, which had a unique ability to address topical subjects before they unfolded in real life on the sports pages," USA says in a statement to announce the cancellation. "We want to thank [creators] Liz Kruger and Craig Shapiro, the incredible cast led by Golden Globe nominee Callie Thorne and our partners at Sony Television."

Thorne, who earned a Golden Globe nomination for playing New York Hawks sports psychologist Dani Santino on the show, has reacted to the said news. She tweeted, "Bidding farewell to Necessary Roughness and the three years I was blessed to have. This show was bound together with the blood, sweat, laughter and tears of an outstanding group of creators, producers, directors, designers, actors, an unparalleled crew, tried and true fans."

She continued in another post, "Any and all of whom I would be lucky to call a friend. I will miss all of you terribly. And as my old pal Dr. Seuss likes to say: Don't cry because it's over -- smile because it happened. #Danicoforever."

Debuted in summer 2011, "Necessary Roughness" was off to a strong start with more than 4.5 million viewers watching the series premiere. The third season averaged around 2.5 million total viewers. Throughout its three-season run, the show averaged 4 million viewers.